Friday, December 23, 2016

Here we are -- two days before Christmas! It's about this time each year that I start saying to myself, "Next year I'm going to wrap the presents as I buy them." Well, maybe next year that will happen because this year it definitely did NOT! Today I'm off work and am going to tackle the bags and boxes I have stashed in the spare bedroom. But that's okay. We have enjoyed ourselves immensely over the last two week with parties and activities. No time for wrapping. Are you ready for the big day?

Before I get knee deep in wrapping paper and tape, here's my five for this week ~

1. Skinny Taste Fast and Slow Cookbook
I had a very late add to my Christmas wish list - this Skinny Taste Fast and Slow cookbook. With the new year fast approaching, I started thinking about how I wanted to eat wiser. Amazon says, "Each recipe includes nutritional information, which can help you take steps toward weight and health goals, and many dishes are vegetarian, gluten-free, and freezer-friendly—all called out with helpful icons. Gina’s practical advice for eating well and 120 color photos round out this indispensable cookbook." This cookbook could really help a girl out that wants to drop some pounds in the new year but not give up delicious food to do it. Check it out HERE.

2. Flip-It Bottle Emptying Kit
My friend Tracy turned me on to these babies -- they are special stands that hold your bottles upside down so you can get every drop out. How ingenious is that?!? It would be wonderful for your almost empty shampoo bottle in the shower or that last little bit of ketchup. There's a video over HERE on Amazon that explains the whole story. This kit needs to be a part of my life! I wish I would have learned about them earlier because they would have so been on my Christmas wish list!

As a bonus, I'll let the QVC gals tell you all about it:

3. Give Back Box Program

Got any Amazon boxes laying around the house you're wishing would be gone? Here's just the thing to get rid of them and some extra clutter too. "Amazon and Goodwill are teaming up to use empty shipping boxes and get rid of the clutter filling homes with the Give Back Box program." Simply remove the items from the Amazon box and then fill it with the items you would like to donate. Visit GiveBackBox.com to print a free shipping label. You can then drop the box off at the post office or schedule to have it picked up. So simple! Your donation goes to the closest Goodwill participating in the Give Back program.

4. "She Believed She Could" Cuff
Need a little reminder that if you believe you can make it happen? This engraved stainless-steel cuff from Nordstrom is just the ticket to serve as a reminder. It would be fantastic to stack with other bracelets and is available in gold, rose gold, and silver. Don't you just love it!?! It would be great to have on your wrist to start the new year off right. Check it out HERE.

5. Christmas Tip:

Okay ~ I'm off to wrap, wrap, wrap. Here's wishing you the happiest of holidays! I'm so looking forward to having a few days off and relaxing with family and friends. What are you looking forward to the most? Whatever it is, I hope it happens for you. See you soon!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Here we are -- the Friday before Christmas! This day got here really faster than I had hoped. It is crunch time for holiday prep. Hope some of the linkups help you with your planning! I would also like to wish each of you a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy today's features ~

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

When the temperature falls and the house is full of Christmas cheer, one of my favorites things to do is cuddle up with a warm mug of wassail. This recipe came to me from my friend Sherri. Every year it seems I can't find where I placed the recipe, so I call her and ask for the ingredients "one more time". She patiently sends me the list AGAIN and I whip up this wonderful blend. This year I thought I would document it here so I wouldn't have to bug her year after year to stop what she's doing and send me the recipe!

Here's What You Need

1-1/2 Tablespoons of All Spice

5-6 Cinnamon Sticks

6 Cups Cold Water

2 Cups Sugar

6 Ounces of Frozen Lemonade

6 Ounces of Frozen Orange Juice

1 Gallon Apple Cider

Here's What You Do

Mix together in a large pot the all spice, cinnamon sticks, cold water, sugar. Add in the concentrated lemonade and orange juice. I haven't been able to find the little 6 ounce cans anywhere, so I buy the 12 ounce cans and scoop out half. Don't dilute the juices - use the concentrate.

Let this mixture warm on your stove. You will begin to smell the wonderful aroma of the cinnamon sticks throughout your whole house. This is one of the wonderful side effects of making this recipe!

Add in the gallon of apple cider. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let the flavors blend together. I usually leave this warming on the stove for at least 30 minutes before serving.

I've been known to occasionally add a bit of brandy to my mug for a more adult beverage. You can feel the liquid warming you from head to toe as you sip your mug of wassail!

This recipe is perfect for a party because it makes a fairly large quantity, you can prepare it ahead of time and your whole house smell like Christmas! Cheers!

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Hey guys! The weather has turned to total crap in our area and I'm really kicking myself for procrastinating with my Christmas shopping. With the temperatures falling outside and ice forming on the roads, I've decided the best thing for me to do in finish my shopping online. Thank goodness the shipping deadline for individual orders from Pampered Chef is December 18!

If you are still looking for a few special gifts, please visit my Pampered Chef website by clicking HERE. Pampered Chef has some amazing items that would make wonderful gifts! Let me show you a few of my favorites ~

Details14¾" x 5½" serving board.Made of natural slate with a flaked edge.The top features an etched design that’s perfect for entertaining.Curved shape coordinates with Ash Wood Serving Board and other round serving pieces.Feet on the base of the board keep tables and countertops scratch-free.

Save $10.00 on the set! This Ash Wood & Slate Cheese Serving Set is a must-have for any foodie or entertainer. It includes the Ash Wood Serving Board, Slate Serving Board, Ash Wood Serving Set, and Ash Wood & Chalkboard Tags.DetailsAsh Wood Serving Board7" x 10" serving board.Ash wood is highly durable, and the driftwood finish gives it a rustic look.Reversible—one side has an etched design, the other has our logo.Oval handle lets you serve or display.

Slate Serving Board14¾" x 5½" serving board.Made of natural slate with a flaked edge.The top features an etched design that’s perfect for entertaining.Curved shape coordinates with Ash Wood Serving Board and other round serving pieces.Feet on the base of the board keep tables and countertops scratch-free.

This Electric Wine Opener makes it easy to open bottles with the touch of a button. It’s perfect for people who love to entertain!DetailsOperate it with one button.Rechargeable. Connect through USB or wall outlet.Charges quickly.Foil cutter doubles as a stand.

Kids' Cookie Set - $23.50
Your family can make their own customized holiday cookies with the Kids’ Cookie Set. It’s filled with real tools that were tested and approved by kids. Recommended for ages 6 and up.

This set is only available until December 31 so even if you don't need it for Christmas, it would make an excellent birthday gift later in the year. Buy it now!

What's your favorite Pampered Chef item? I have too many to list! You can always count on Pampered Chef for quality products. While you're looking for gifts, you might as well stock up on a few things for yourself! Happy shopping!

Friday, December 16, 2016

Here we are at another Friday! This week flew by and that means we are even closer to Christmas than we were last week! I've enjoyed tons of fun parties and activities this week so not a lot of holiday preparation has occurred at my house. This weekend I'm going to be busting my bottom to finish up my to do list while trying to keep the holiday cheer in my soul. Wish me luck!

Before I head off into the crowds I want to share my five with you for today ~

1. National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
You got it -- today to National Chocolate Covered Anything Day! I mean really, isn't everything better with a bit of chocolate on it?!? Last year I shared my Chocolate Covered Peanuts recipe with you. It's HERE if you want to check it out. I've been making those little clusters since my sorority sister, Becky, introduced me to them in college. Hope you enjoy something wonderful covered in chocolate today!

2. Hillshire Farms Wine Infused Salame
Have you seen this at the store? Wine-infused salame! My friend, Jodie, had this snack at her movie theater and thankfully shared it's existence with us. Yum! I checked it out and it's available at Walmart and Target. What a great little snack to have on hand.

3. Collateral Beauty

Today's the day -- Collateral Beauty opens. Here's the synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes, "When a successful New York advertising executive suffers a great tragedy he retreats from life. While his concerned friends try desperately to reconnect with him, he seeks answers from the universe by writing letters to Love, Time and Death. But it's not until his notes bring unexpected personal responses that he begins to understand how these constants interlock in a life fully lived, and how even the deepest loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty." It seems like a very thought provoking film. Don't know if I'll get a chance to see it over the weekend, but it's definitely on my list for Christmas break!

You've seen me blog about this before, but just in case you are still looking for that special gift for the impossible person (lady or man), you might want to consider Birchbox. This little box of surprises arrives once a month with five fun samples inside. I can attest that each month when I open my mailbox and this box is looking out at me, I let out a little squeal of excitement. I've purchased a subscription for Eric, my husband, and he loves it too. A three-month subscription is $30. The recipient will get a notification and can fill out a survey so the samples will fit their likes and not include their dislikes. Check it out HERE.

5. This is me this weekend....

Here's hoping you have a fantastic weekend! We're going to see Eric's mom, doing dinner with our son and daughter-in-law and having a group of friends over before going to a Trans-Siberian tribute concert. It makes me excited to start the weekend! Oh, and wrapping, wrapping, wrapping. See you back next week!

Happy Friday! Are you ready for Christmas? I'm getting there, but still have a ways to go. I'm sure the links today will help me get totally prepared! Don't forget to get registered for the wonderful giveaway this week. Enjoy!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Oh my goodness -- we are 9 days away from Christmas and I am no where near ready! What about you? Are you ready? I'm glad you took a second to pop in to Thinking Out Loud Thursday with me and Vanessa from X-tremely V!

I'm not panicking yet. I haven't missed any deadlines or activities. As a matter of fact, this week has been chock-full of fabulous parties, lunches and and activities. Yesterday I did one of my favorite things of the holiday season -- I rang bells for the Salvation Army! That's what I'm thinking out loud about today!

The company I work for offers a volunteer opportunity to ring for an hour at a designated site. We rang at a Schnuck's grocery store near our office. The temperatures were freezing yesterday so a special shout out to Schnuck's for letting us move our kettle inside to the vestibule of their store and away from the bitter cold and wind.

The particular Schnuck's store we rang at is located in Ferguson, Missouri. Yes, the same Ferguson you might have heard about on the news a few years ago associated with the riots over the Michael Brown case. I'm here to say that the Ferguson we encountered was nothing like the scenes we witnessed on TV. The people were friendly and generous. Some told stories of how the Salvation army had helped their families and they were giving back as a way of saying thank you. More than once tears puddled in my eyes as someone shared their story with us as they folded their dollars and put them in the red kettle.

The Salvation Army helped approximately 30 million people last year with basic necessities of life - food, shelter, and warmth. In this season of hustle and bustle, please remember those less fortunate. And please remember to smile at the bell ringers! If you would like to make an online donation to the Salvation Army, we can do so HERE.

So that's what I'm thinking out loud about today. What's on your mind? Link up and tell us all about it!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

About this time of year, I have the majority of my Christmas shopping complete. All the "low lying fruit" (presents for people I know what I'm getting) has been picked and now I'm searching for those unique gifts for the harder people on my list. You know the ones.

One of my go to stores for these types of presents is UncommonGoods. Have you seen their stuff? There are so many things to choose from you will have no problem whatsoever finishing your shopping list and checking it twice! Not to mention everyone will be LOVING their presents! Here are a few items I would love Santa to drop under my tree ~

Ticket Stub Diary - $12
Do you have a concert or theater lover in your mist? Check out this Ticket Stub Diary! What a great way to preserve those tickets and memories from sporting events, movies, concerts -- you name it, any type of ticket. I'm thinking this would also pair nicely if you are giving someone event tickets for Christmas. Just tuck them in the first page for an added surprise when the recipient opens the book. There is even a place to jot down your favorite memory from the event.

Inside this recycled steel tin are seeds that when planted will grow into your very own Scotch pine Christmas tree! Wouldn't this be perfect for that person who just moved into their first home or the gardener in your life?!? Or what about in your child or grandchild's stocking. In the spring you can plant it together and watch it grow. How precious!

I would be hopping out of bed everyday excited to start my day if I had one of these aromatherapy shower kits hanging in my shower! It turns your plain Jane shower into a personal spa. The starter kit comes with three signature aromatherapy blends and refills are available. You can change up the oil to suit your mood. I would love one!

Need a little something to add to that bottle of wine you're gifting someone? How about these wine pearls! They keep your wine at just the right temperature without diluting like regular ice cubes would. Here's a little fun fact for you that I learned from the Uncommon Goods website, "While vino aficionados wouldn't dare serve a white wine at room temperature, it's also important to give red wines the same consideration. When reds are served too warm, the alcohol tends to predominate, concealing the fruit of the wine and resulting in a loss of typicity and personality. Fortunately, when you pop a wine pearl into a room-temperature pour of red wine, you can bring it down to cellar temperature (54–64º F/12–16º C) in a matter of minutes." See you need these for your white AND red wines!

I could go on and on with products I love, but I'll leave the browsing up to you. Click HERE to get to the UncommonGoods website and see all their super cool stuff for yourself. Here's some other helpful blog posts with some gift ideas:

As an added bonus when you purchase from UncommonGoods - they make it their mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers. Half of what they sell is made by hand. Most of the jewelry products, home decor and table top items are created right here in the good ole' USA and about a third of the entire collection incorporates recycled and/or upcycled materials. Bottom line -- flat out a good company to buy from! Happy shopping!

Friday, December 9, 2016

We've made it to Friday! YAY! It's going to be a cold weekend in St. Louis ~ kind of puts you in the holiday mood. We still have some shopping to do and a bit of decorating. Did you see our tour of trees from yesterday? I plan on doing a lot of enjoying the twinkling lights this weekend.

Here's my five things for this week ~

1. EzPz Placemat
Have you played pick up with a toddler at dinnertime before? This placemat stays in place. No more bowls or plates being tossed on the floor. Where was this item when Ian was little?!? As a bonus, I've attached a little video that shows this mat in action. Want one? Check it out HERE.

2. Santa Hat Hershey's Kisses

I saw these in person this week and they are adorable! Have you seen them? Apparently they are available at Walmart and Target. I'm going to be on the lookout for them this weekend. Perfect to toss in the candy jar this holiday season!

One of my friends gave me this Kate Spade book for my birthday and I LOVE it! Here's what Amazon has to say about it, "In this charming guide to entertaining, kate spade new york throws rigid rules out the door and shares unpretentious ideas for the modern-day hostess that are easy, festive, authentic, and always with an air of deliberate polish. Filled with how-tos, personal essays, anecdotes, recipes, and a liberal dash of style, all in good taste will transform you into the hostess everyone wants an invitation from. the book covers the essential lost arts—how to shuck an oyster, curate a vibrant guest list, guide a dinner-table discussion—right alongside modern conundrums such as Instagram etiquette at dinner. whether you entertain a little or a lot, or just love being the person everyone wants to sit next to at dinner, all in good taste is the modern classic you’ll treasure for years." How adorable would this be as a hostess gift! Want one? Click HERE.

4. Rolling Stones Ole' Ole' Ole'

Guess what I'm doing on Monday night -- I'm seeing this Rolling Stones movie! So excited!! Wonder how the Rolling Stones 2016 tour of Latin America went? Well, this documentary will walk you through it. It's only being shown on Monday, December 12 in select theaters so check to see if it's playing in your area today.

5. Cheers!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! We are headed to a couple parties and I'm really hoping to start my wrapping. Tomorrow I'm sharing one of my favorite shops with you -- stop back by and check it out.

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Happy Friday! Friday Favorites has some wonderful holiday features for you today and a giveaway! Jerri has donated an item from her Etsy shop -- you'll have to check out her necklaces. So adorable! Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Happy Thursday! A few weeks ago, my friend Terri from Our Good Life blog reached out to some of us to see if we wanted to participate in a "Show Me Your Christmas Tree" link up. I immediately jumped on the chance to play along! If I were to list all the things in this world that I loved, Christmas trees would be near the top.

We have five full size Christmas trees in our house. (See, I told you I loved trees.) Now, I have to be honest ~ Eric and I decorated zero of them. Our good friend, Carol, is an excellent floral and interior designer. She comes to our house on the Monday after Thanksgiving while we are working and when we return that evening, our house has magically been transformed into a Christmas wonderland. Best money we spend on Christmas! If you live in the area and are interested in her doing your decorating, message me and I'll hook the two of you up. It is remarkable how much stress it took off our marriage when we started having Carol do our decorating. Eric and I would be fighting tense with each other practically as soon as the tree box opened. Now we can just come home and smile at each other as we turn on the lights and sit in front of the tree with a cup of apple cider.

Want to see the trees Carol put together for us this year? Let's start in the family room. This year we went with a woodland theme.

We have a skinny tree in the study. It's the perfect size tree for the space available in that room.

The tree in the kitchen has a baking theme. Little gingerbread girls and wood utensils adorn the branches. On top is a baker overseeing all the action.

One of the many things Carol does that adds a special touch to the tree is removing the top of the ornament and sticking it straight on the end of the branch. This adds a dimension to the tree you just don't get if you hang all the ornaments deeper on the branches.

The tree in the dining room is decorated with the same color scheme as the walls - a light coral. We enjoy sitting in the dining room when we have guests over and the tree adds to the festiveness.

To round out my tour of trees is the one in our bedroom. I love laying in bed at night with all the lights out except the Christmas tree. This is the tree that holds all the special ornaments we have acquired over the years like Ian's first Christmas ornament, an ornament given to me by my friend Jenny to celebrate our first year of marriage, and a special blogging ornament from my friend Tracy.

Thanks for popping in to see our trees. Do you have your tree decorated yet? Don't forget to pop in to the blogs link below to see their trees. You just might get some ideas for your tree!